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           A Week in the Life - part of Disk 1216
                      (Author Unknown)

           Review by Dorothy Millard (PC Version)
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A Week in the Life is described as "An Interactive Self."  A week
much like any other, is about to start.  What promises does it
hold? What problems will you face?  And how will you feel at the
end?

Starting on Monday my first problem was what to do.  The first
location description, and I quote, reads "Your life - A mess of
confused emotions and thoughts, with the repugnant odour of
unresolved pain seeping out of cracks in the surface.  Self-doubt
rests heavily in the air."  It goes on to say "A man surprises and
secretly delights you with his attention.  Does he love you?  Do
you love him?"  Quite frankly, I don't know!  I never managed to
find out.  I examined me and was told that I had been trying that
for some time but never seem to come up with a satisfactory
answer.  I went on to ask the man about me and he made all the
right noises, sometimes amused, sometimes interested, sometimes
disagreeing with me, but after all this I was none the wiser.

You also see your friends and saying hello to them you're told
that they are not interested in what you have to say, they are
only interested in telling you their stories.  Okay, I thought,
let's listen to their stories, but my request to listen only
elicited the response that you are always listening and never
speaking!  It says in the location description that an examination
looms, causing turbulence, but on examining the man and friends I
was none the wiser and I still didn't know who I was and whether I
was male or female.  Maybe I was something else ...  On second
thoughts, I returned to the game and typed in "Make Love to Man,"
- now it appears I am female, but who I still don't know.  I tried
to get the man but he didn't care for that.  I thought at this
point that I would have a look around, so tried a few compass
directions, but only got the message that I couldn't go in that
direction, so I was stuck in the first location trying
unsuccessfully to talk to my friends who didn't want to talk to
me.

By the second day, Tuesday, I was getting desperate enough to hit
my so called friends who wouldn't talk to me and then they left.
Okay I thought, do I love this man?  Let's try kissing him.  Then
I tried feel, touch - getting sensual now but it didn't help much.
I tried love man and he left too.  I was up to Wednesday.  I think
and wait - now what?  What to do now that I had no friends and the
man has left too.  There's no-one to talk to and nowhere to go.  I
tried work and this passed some time and made me tired so I slept.
The next thing I knew it was Friday.  I decided to try having a
shower and using the toilet to pass the time, but wasn't allowed.
It's going to be a looooooong week... I tried working and sleeping
again but was told it wasn't appropriate right now.  Desperate I
tried examining my life, emotions and thoughts but they didn't
exist in this small domain.  I could think of nothing else to do
so I typed look to pass the time.  After I got to 300 efforts and
it was still Friday I got bored, could think of anything else to
do and with no-one to talk to gave up and typed quit.

I have no idea who the author is.  I tried help, hint, about,
words and information and none elicited assistance or information
to help me on my way.  There are no instructions that I could find
on how to interact with the game.  This is not a traditional game
in any sense. I still don't know what I am supposed to do.  I'm
sure there is a very clever adventure in there, but personally I
didn't like it, but then I always prefer a good traditional
treasure hunt in its many different formats.  It's not that
there's anything wrong with A Week in the Life, it's just that I
was unsuccessful in playing it.  I came to the conclusion that I
was a very boring "self."

@~This must get this issue's award for 'Weird Game of the
@~Month' ...  Sue




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